Crock Pot Mac and Cheese

January 31, 2012

I want to start by saying I am VERY excited to share this recipe with you! This was my third attempt at Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese and I seriously nailed it with this one thanks to Paula Deen. My first attempt was probably about a year ago and I ended up with a curdled mess. I decided to give a it a second shot a couple weeks ago at a fans request. Two words: curdle city. Just see for yourself:

Again, it ended up dry and despite using evaporated milk, it STILL curdled!

I wanted something creamy. I wanted my noodles to stay separated. So after a bit more googling, I landed upon Paula Deen’s Creamy Crock Pot Mac & Cheese. The reviews were good and I thought, ok I’ll give it a go. Here is how it’s done:

This is what the cheese should look like after you melt the butter and shredded cheese. It only takes a couple minutes on med/low. I also want to note that I used medium cheddar instead of sharp cheddar.

I can’t rave enough about this recipe. Just look at how every noodle is swimming in a pool of ooey gooey cheesy goodness!

BOTH of my boys devoured this. Big brother took one bite and said “Mommy, YUM YUM!” and asked for more when he finish his first bowl. Little brother couldn’t get enough! I had a couple helpings as well

I’m glad I gave Crock Pot Mac & Cheese one last try…Third time’s a charm!

I made a double batch and it fit in the original size fine – think it’s 3 1/2 qt. – so if you have a 7qt you could 4x it – probably cook it a bit longer – you might be able to put it in a 6 qt. but it’s going to be fuller than you’ll want, I suspect! Use a liner so you can have “sideboards” if you need to!

Have this in the crock pot right now…. I just stirred it for the first time, and it already looks and tastes AMAZING! I am worried about the noodles becoming soggy mush, because I hada bad experience with goulash once lol. Hoping for the best! I did use penne, too. I will update later how it was

Jody, I am anxious to hear how it turns out! I think the key is to make sure you don't cook the noodles all the way before putting them in the crock pot. A friend just called to tell me she has this cooking in the crock pot as well. Must be a Mac & Cheese kind of day!

This is soo so good. I use fat free greek yogurt instead of the sour cream to spare just a few calories. As a college student I love to throw this in the crock pot 2 hours before dinner time, gives me extra time to do homework and it's one less thing I have to worry about when I'm making the rest of the meal. My boyfriend goes crazy when I make this, I would absolutely recommend it to anyone, it is the prefect mac n cheese (after this nothing even comes close)!

Going to try making this tonight for my family. I'm starting to learn how to cook and bake and do this kind of stuff. And this has to be one of the best looking and easiest recipes I've come across. Can't wait to start! I'll definitely let you know how it turns out. =)

I made this a couple of weeks ago and have been craving it ever since. So, my weird hubby is not into CREAMY mac & cheese (weird, I KNOW!) but I am going to be making this again tomorrow and I am SOO excited! More for me, I guess. I swear this is close – even better, if you ask me, than Stouffers mac & cheese. Did I mention how excited I am to make this again!!

I had the same problem with curdling and using eggs. But then I found this recipe just in time for Thanksgiving. In fact, I'm eating it right now and it's divine! I used pepper jack and I'm kind of tempted to add some hot links next time. I can't thank you enough!!!

I have this in the crock pot right now! I may have done something wrong though… my cheese just clumped up instead of mixing in. I have giant clumps of cheese in there. Did anyone else have this problem?? Or can anyone help me figure out how to prevent that? It still tastes good though I guess the soup still gives it the cheesy flavor even without the grated cheddar.

When I put in the cheese sauce it kind of clumped together (I think because of the coldness of the milk and sour cream), but once it starts heating up it will melt and get all gooey and delicious. Good luck!

I maked the best baked mac & cheese but I am anxous to try this. My secret has always been the cheddar cheese soup but I guess it's out of the bag. I mix the soup with the milk and then put it in with the macaroni. I also put in a bit of parm. cheese.

I am going to try this recipe for a company pot luck on Thursday. Wish me luck. I love Crock Pot cooking!!!

Sarah, I have this in my crock pot now and I have to say… being home alone and playing "chef" I had the privilege of tasting it before the rest of the family. It's GOOD! I'm going to take my husband's portion and put it in a single serving ceramic dish and top it with a mixture of breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese and put that under the broiler for a few minutes. Thanks for posting this recipe today!

I am making this right now. It has been cooking for only an hour or so and seems done…but the cheese and butter melted mixture never looked like yours. My cheese was a big glob in a pot of butter and cheese oils. I said screw it and hope it turns melt-y in the crock pot and not like glue balls that is still somewhat is. It looks great and very creamy, hope it smooths out some and it already looks better than my last attempt, with an evaporated milk and egg recipe looking much like your picture.

I did not see your comment before I started the recipe, but now I wish I had as I am having the same experience – a big glob of cheese in a pot of melted butter. I'm hoping it turns out but the prognosis isn't good so far!

I made this yesterday and it was soooo good. Finally a homemade mac and cheese recipe that my family will eat!!! It was so easy and still tasted great as leftovers for lunch today. Until now I hadn't found a recipe that was really edible the next day. Thanks so much

Thanks for the recipe, it came out delicious! The second time I made it, I substituted the sour cream with 1/2 a stick of cream cheese (mainly b/c we had ran out of sour cream) and it tasted delicious as well.

I would like to know what your opinion is on putting the dry pasta in the crockpot and how it would turn out. I hate cooking stuff before I put it in the crockpot because I feel like thats what a crockpot is for (not cooking). I have used another recipe that called for dry pasta but it had the eggs, and evaporated milk so it was very custard like.

The first time I made homemade Mac n cheese my 6 year old told me to never make it again & I should stick to the stuff in the box(not this recipe) lol but somehow came across this recipe and it was a huge hit in my house! I think it’s safe to say I will never buy the boxed stuff again! Thanks for posting!! Best Mac n cheese ever ☺

Just made this today – double batch, shared w/friends – I had whole wheat rotini so used that, sharp cheddar plus about 3/4 cup of swiss to finish the measurement, had only one can of cheddar soup, so found a can of Campbell’s nacho cheese soup and used it too. Used a can of evap. milk [don’t keep whole milk].
The double batch fit my crockpot just perfectly [it’s one of the “original” size, I think 3 1/2 qt? Our friends were impressed – the guy said if I’d loan him a spnon, he’d just eat it on the way home!! Thank you so much for the recipe – we’ll do it again, and soon!

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Hi and thanks for stopping by! I'm Sarah, the crafter, crocheter and crockpotter behind this blog. As a wife and mom of 3 my days are busy but I always find time to pick up my crochet hook or indulge in something crafty. I have a passion for crafting and crocheting
and offer my patterns and tutorials for free! Keep your eye out for monthly crock pot recipes as well. I hope you enjoy everything you find here and please feel free to repeat after me!